Big Education Ape Editor (Mike Simpson): I have known Leo for over 10 years. This is so very WRONG! Leo is the most loving and caring person that can be imagined. He spends many hours advocating for children and for public education. Please consider sending your support for Leo in this matter, the kids need him!
Teacher Suspended for Hugging Autistic Student Must be Reinstated
From Leo's FaceBook page
"Thanks to all the petition signers and supportive commenters. The newest challenge is that CPS has directed Gio's mom to cease all contact between myself and her son under threat of removal for neglect.This is because I am 'under investigation - though not by CPS. Crazy! Especially since we are approaching 60 days with no tentative dates for completion of the MUSD and MPD investigations. Something is wrong with this process and it is not the parent/teacher solidarity!Through our advocacy at the County Board of Supervisors and elsewhere we have been able to have the 'child safety plan' modified to 'allowing', though contrary to CPS recommendation, my tutoring and visits in her presence. The threat of removal for noncompliance remains. So much for respecting a mother's judgment and child needs!Now Terry has to cover the morning child care so that Sharon can work. This had been my role until later each day when Terry was rested enough to share in the service of caregiving. We are trying to get a compromise to let Sharon bring Gio to our home so that Terry can have my help as she adjusts to the new reality of living with IBC.It takes a village but apparently this is not embraced by our local CPS, MUSD & MPD. Waiting for the 'Family City' to show up smile emoticon Realistically it will probably be an arrest warrant showing up to justify the excessive investment of police and CPS resources. Thankfully we will then be finally in a true presumption of innocence environment. This is all so sad frown emoticon
(Photo: Tim Daly, KXTV-Sacramento)
Target: Jason Messer, Superintendent at Manteca Unified School District
Goal: Reinstate teacher suspended for hugging a special needs student.
A special education teacher has been suspended and barred from being near children after he granted an autistic child’s request for a hug. Leo Bennett-Cauchon, a teacher for 16 years, hugged and picked up an 8-year-old autistic boy at the boy’s request, as he was trained to do. The school district was notified of the act, and called police in to investigate what they have called “possible inappropriate behavior.”
Autism spectrum disorders are immensely varied and complex, and each affected child needs a different kind of care. While some do not like to be touched, others need the sensation of physical stimulation and human contact to calm them. As special needs children are likely to be away from their parents for extended lengths of time at school, it is perfectly reasonable that they may need this contact from a teacher.
Leo Bennett-Cauchon was educated specifically in understanding and addressing the needs of developmentally disabled children. By suspending him, the school is not only punishing Bennett-Cauchon, but his students as well, who need the stability and structure a familiar teacher can provide. Even the child’s mother supports the way the teacher handled her son, and believes he should be reinstated immediately.
Accusing this special needs teacher of inappropriate conduct is ridiculous, and could be detrimental to the way this teacher handles students in the future. By suspending him, the school is showing no regard for the special needs of mentally challenged students. Sign the petition below to demand that the school immediately reinstate this teacher as well as apologize for the trumped-up allegations of misconduct, which have the power to ruin his entire career.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Mr. Jason Messer,
Leo Bennett-Cauchon, a special needs teacher for 16 years, was recently suspended for hugging an autistic child when the child asked for a hug. Bennett was specially trained to deal with special needs children, who sometimes need human contact to calm themselves.
Not only was the teacher suspended for hugging the child, but the school district decided to involve the police despite the child’s mother asserting that Bennett dealt with her child appropriately. These trumped-up allegations are not only ridiculous, but could even end the teacher’s career.
By suspending Bennett, the school district has shown disregard for the well-being of its special needs students, who need the stability of a regular teacher, and sometimes, physical contact. We, the undersigned, demand that the school district apologize for suspending Bennett for simply doing his job, and that he is immediately allowed to return to work.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo credit: Cynthia_M._Parkhill via Creative Commons
Autism teacher protests removal for hugging
A special education teacher for 16 years is protesting the move by Manteca, Calif. school officials to put him on paid leave, barred from being near children.
Leo Bennett-Cauchon said he was just doing what was best for a severely autistic 8-year old when he made contact with the child in early February.
"I've been trained, if a student asks for a hug, you give a hug. I admit completely that I hugged him and let him sit in my lap when he said 'sit.' I picked him up when he said 'up.' This is a child that needs that physical contact," Bennett-Cauchon said.
He's been holding a sign outside the school district office that says "Let me teach. Bring back joy."
Clark Burke, a representative for the school district, says it's making sure it follows through with both its legal and moral obligations to protect students.
Police in this Northern California town said Tuesday they're investigating the possibility there were "repeated acts of inappropriate behavior" and "there could be multiple victims."
The mother of the 8-year-old boy said she supports how the teacher dealt with her son, but Bennett-Cauchon will be off the job while the incident is investigated by police and the school district. The police investigation is expected to last up to four weeks.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2015/02/18/autism-teacher-removal-hugging-california/23601933/Leo Bennett-Cauchon: Special Education Teacher Suspended For Hugging Autistic Child Who Asked For A Hug
image: http://cdn.inquisitr.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Leo-Bennett-Cauchon-665x385.jpg
Leo Bennett-Cauchon has been a special education teacher for the past 16 years working with students who have severe disabilities, but the well-liked educator is now out of a job after giving a hug to an autistic 8-year-old who reached out to hug him.
Bennett-Cauchon was suspended by the Manteca, California, school district and put on leave, also barring him from being near children.
But Leo Bennet-Cauchon said he didn’t do anything wrong.
“I’ve been trained, if a student asks for a hug, you give a hug. I admit completely that I hugged him and let him sit in my lap when he said ‘sit.’ I picked him up when he said ‘up.’ This is a child that needs that physical contact,” Bennett-Cauchon said.
The school even turned the case over to the Manteca Police Department, who are looking into whether there were “repeated acts of inappropriate behavior.” Police said they are concerned “there could be multiple victims.”
But Leo Bennett-Cauchon said there’s a good reason. Many of the kids he teaches are homeless or in the foster system, and often they just need a hug.
Many parents are in Leo’s corner, including the parents of the boy.
“He has my full support,” Sharon Anaya said. “That’s why I felt that this should have remained at a school district level investigation, rather than involving police.”
This is not the only case of a controversial teacher suspension to make headlines in recent week’s. Back in December, a teacher in Oklahoma was suspended for reading his class a Benjamin Franklin quote that read: “In the dark, all cats are gray.”
The quote, taken from one of Franklin’s letters titled by historians “Advice to a Young Man on Choosing a Mistress,” was meant to illustrate that the founding father was still just a man, and a flawed one at that. But the quote’s sexual undertones attracted the attention of the district, who suspended the teacher.
Meanwhile, Leo Bennett-Cauchon has taken his protest directly to the district, standing outside the administrative offices with a sign that read,”Let me teach. Bring back joy.” Police said their investigation will take up to four weeks.
